Category: Climate

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The first days of Fall

FallTrees Small

After many weeks of blistering heat even in my small mountain town, the past few days are hinting Winter is coming. Typically up here it’s 70° to 80° at worst. Places off the mountain swelter while we have our windows open, enjoying nice breezes.

The temps have suddenly been cooler, even during the day. It’s actually nice to be outside puttering around the yard. This may be residual from hurricane Kay. 

Fall chores are upon me. I need to clean the dryer vent, fire up the furnace and blow all the cobwebs and get that weird dusty smell out of it.

This morning I woke up to the temperature inside the house being 65°F instead of 75°F. Outside it was 54°F.

Some of the Maple trees are starting to change, other plants will be losing their leaves over the next few weeks.

There is one thing that makes this really nice. Since the windows are closed and all the neighbors have their windows  closed too, there is blessed silence. Their internal conflicts of their families are remaining internal after a long hot Summer of their squabbles being broadcast to the whole neighborhood. 

Sound carries up here. The things you hear are amusing and astounding. The most interesting arguments are the ones at 2 or 3 am. Wow! I don’t need to know some of the things I’ve heard about either party.

The squirrels are being lazy this morning, they’ve not yet been out scampering through the treetops chattering at each other.

The dog is happy for the cooler weather. I know the seasons are changing because the dog is not shedding. His fur is at its thinnest and the past few nights he’s been very cuddly. His Winter coat will come in over the next month or so. I’m curious to see if I can predict the severity of the Winter season by looking at his fur.

Yesterday I had the chain saw fired up. Some of the larger branches of Mountain Lilac needed to be cleared out. They’d died  because of the heat and drought. Probably in the next month, I’ll be using the pole saw to remove more dead branches exposed by the plants losing their leaves. 

Like most guys, I like tools. The danger with the chainsaw is that I go looking for stuff to cut down. I like the electric saw much better than gas powered ones. I think it’s the whir of the motor, instant power, and not breathing gas fumes.

There’s a neighbors tree that really could use some grooming. Maybe I’ll ask him if I can go at it. Not that I’m looking for additional chores, but this particular tree has a lot of old dead branches that overhang the road coming to the house. One of these winters, they’re going to fall and mess somebody’s car up. (This is a purely selfish move on my part, and I get to use my tools.)

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Thank goodness for a hurricane

Rainyscene

I probably won’t have to water for a week or so!

FYI, I does in fact rain in Southern California. We got a nice steady rain for about 4-6 hours yesterday and into last night.

The dog was not amused about it at all. He loves snow but water falling from the sky… He spent most of the day in his “room”. He also kept looking at me as though I had something to do with it.

I don’t know how much rain we actually got, but it wasn’t enough to cause a lot runoff as sometimes happens. This was a nice constant soaking where I live, the plants in the yard are already perking up after 90°F plus temps baking them for the past week or so.

The temp dropping to 70°F with a breeze through the house after the high temps caused some shivering at dinnertime.

I’m sure in the lower areas (Off the mountain) there may have been some street flooding etc.

The rain also helped out the fire crews working the fire in Riverside County so that is another plus.

This morning it’s cool and overcast. I’ve been watching some young squirrels playing in their home tree. I guess they were cooped up all day yesterday and their mom told them to get out of the house for a while.

The dog has been talking to me all morning as Husky breeds tend to do. He’s wanting to play but when we go outside to toss the ball around he gets distracted by smells, then forgets what we were doing. He comes up to me with this “where’s the ball,” look. Even though it’s right where he left it when he got distracted. I swear this dog has ADHD.

I think everyone in the neighborhood is taking it slow this morning. They’re probably just enjoying the coolness as I am. I’m also enjoying the silence, no cars, chainsaws, hammering, or screaming nut jobs yet today.

I’m guessing that once things dry out a little, all the noise will start up, but for the moment I’m enjoying the sound of nothing except birds chirping and squirrels barking at each other in the trees.

There’s the possibility of thunderstorms later in the day. The dog will no doubt be on the couch next to me for “Protection” if that happens.

Apple had its big annual announcement this week. I’ve been reading about the new products and am thinking I’ll wait until the iPhone 15 before thinking about a phone upgrade, my iPhone 12 Pro is still working. The new IOS is supposed to be available on Monday, I’ll be waiting for a week or more before installing that as well.

I’ve found in general that I’m not intrigued by the new products. The exception is the Apple Watch Ultra. That product got my attention. I’m not going to run out a pre-order it, instead I’ll wait to see it in person. It’s a big watch and it might simply be too big for me personally. A 36 hour battery life addresses one concern I’ve had with my aging series 5. Typically if I’m wearing the series 5, I’m running it in dark mode rather than having the display always on. It saves power and I don’t mind not seeing the display until I need it.

Apple fw22 watch ultra1

That the Apple Watch Ultra is going to have recreational dive computer software available later in the year is also a plus. For me it’s a twofer. I get an Apple Watch with longer life per charge, and a dive computer. It remains to be seen, but it’s possible that they may be able to provide wireless air integration with a bluetooth transmitter on the regulator.

My faithful Sunnto dive computer and transmitter are due for a battery change and pressure test. This service costs about $300 and requires that both units be sent away to God knows where, this time. It used to be San Diego, then it was Florida, and I haven’t checked where it’s going to go this time around.

While I like the Sunnto, (this is the second one I’ve owned. The first one was lost in a fire,) this particular unit’s backlight has never been as bright as the first one. The battery changes are expensive too. I’ve been looking for a new dive computer and have discovered a number of newer units that are rechargeable and provide wireless log transfer to computers or phones (my venerable D5 requires a hardline connection). Because of the service costs on the Suunto, I’ve been considering a new dive computer anyway.

Perhaps the Apple Ultra can provide all the functionality I’d like in one neat package. It’s also cheaper than many dive computers available now.

Could it be that Apple is going to be able to change the paradigm in SCUBA too?

The Apple Watch Ultra could also address some of the navigation issues I’ve noticed while hiking in the mountains & forest near my home. I’m interested to see how the dual band GPS works. My series 5 has on occasion been completely confused about my location and I’ve resorted to a compass and topographical map to sort out the issue.

(As an aside, that’s the reason you always carry a non digital backup if you’re hiking someplace unfamiliar. I also have a HAM radio because sometimes there’ no cell service but I can usually hit a repeater. Fortunately I’ve never had to call for help but fortune favors the prepared. I typically have some food, water, and a minimal first aid kit with me as well. I don’t want to be one of those hikers who needs a risky night evacuation putting rescue personnel in more danger. I’d rather be able to tell rescue folks, something like, “I’m hurt, my location is coordinates x West y North, I can’t walk out, but I’ve got food, water, and proper clothing to wait it out till dawn. I’ll check in with you guys throughout the night on Freq xyz”. That’s just being responsible.)

Yes, I know that the newest iPhone has satellite messaging, but my radio works just fine. Even if I were to get a new iPhone, I’d still carry the radio.

In short, I think the Apple Watch Ultra might be for me. This doesn’t mean that I’m not still looking at good old fashioned automatic watches like the Omega, Ball, or others. Sometimes it’s really nice to just know what time it is…

Aside from reading articles about The Queen, I’ve successfully ignored the news this week. Although I have indulged my Reddit AITA “Am I The Asshole” addiction a few times.

I get a kick out of those articles. Some people are real jackasses!

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Ah… Rain

As most of the nation knows by now, the South West is in a bad drought.

That’s led to high temperatures and nasty wildfire conditions throughout the area.

On a more personal level, it’s led to me losing a baby tree that I sprouted from a twig. We’re under water restrictions. Our community is only allowed to water our plants twice a week. My little dogwood never had a chance.

It was a baby and needed a little more water. I tried, I dumped any partially full water bottles or glasses around the little guy in the front yard. It wasn’t enough.

My well established apple tree is feeling the pain too. By the time the watering day comes around the leaves are curling a bit. I’d break the rules and water more, but the water company “excessive water use” rates make it far too expensive.

Over the past few days, it’s been overcast and cooler. Sunday we got some real rain. Accompanied by the occasional rumble of thunder. It was wonderful and welcome.

Sunday night, early Monday morning, there was a bit of rain. The sound of rain on the roof didn’t wake me up, but the smell of rain scenting the breeze wafting through the windows did.

The dog has mixed feelings about it. On the one hand he likes the cooler temps. On the other hand he’s not thrilled about the thunder, or the water falling on him from the sky.

I find this amusing since he absolutely loves the snow.

He’s been a little subdued. Like a child on a rainy day. I’d put out finger paints for him but I think the ensuing mess would be expensive and time consuming to clean up.

On the other hand, perhaps I could have him generate some artwork for sale to pay for his kibble.

More rain is possible. I’ll be happy if it comes in gentle waves. More soaks into the ground and it means I won’t have to water the trees.

The down side is that the desert plants will go nuts requiring me to weed whack and trim them back.

Eh, I’ll take the trimming in trade for the water and cool breezes.